Chapter 156: Entei: Give Me Some Face
Charizard and Moltres chased each other across the sea.
"This stupid bird just doesn’t know when to quit—why is it still following us?!" Rio was furious, glancing back at Moltres. Though Charizard had recovered, its stats still showed a clear power gap compared to Moltres. Unless Munchlax could use Metronome to help, there was no point in fighting.
"Just you wait—if I get out of this alive, I’ll come back for you," Rio muttered, glancing at the Master Ball on his belt, then looking away. This bird doesn’t deserve that ball. I’ll catch it with a regular one when I’m stronger.
Half an hour later, the chase between Charizard and Moltres left the Sevii Islands and reached an unnamed island at the southernmost tip of Kanto. As soon as they entered the island’s airspace—
A roar echoed from the northwest.
"Yan-yan-yi~"
The sound was deafening. Rio turned and saw an orange-furred, lion-like Pokémon leaping between trees, charging toward them. In the blink of an eye, it reached their position and unleashed a flame tinged with purple that met Moltres’s fire and canceled it out.
Rio’s jaw dropped as he stared at the orange lion.
[Pokémon: Entei]
[Level: 81 (Time until next level: 6780 days.)]
[Talent: Legendary]
[Friendship: 0]
[Ability 1: Pressure]
[Ability 2: Inner Focus]
[Gender: Genderless]
[Moves: Stomp (122%), Leer (122%), Ember (122%), Smokescreen (122%), Sacred Fire (122%), Extreme Speed (122%), Flame Wheel (122%), Bite (122%), Calm Mind (122%), Roar (122%), Fire Fang (122%), Scary Face (122%), Crunch (122%), Zen Headbutt (122%), Eruption (122%), Swagger (122%), Sunny Day (122%), Blast Burn (122%), Heat Wave (122%), Scorching Sands (122%), and more...]
[Description: This is a legendary Pokémon that commands flames capable of burning everything. Its roar can cause volcanoes anywhere in the world to erupt.]
"Entei?!" Rio was stunned. He couldn’t believe he was meeting it here. Meeting Moltres while trying to catch it was normal. Running into Lugia was unlucky but still understandable. But Entei? And it had just intercepted Moltres’s attack for him.
"Yan-yan-yi~" Entei roared at Moltres after blocking its flames.
"GRA-OOO!" Moltres roared back.
"What are they saying?" Rio pulled out Gengar’s ancient Poké Ball.
"Entei says to give it some face and let you go."
"Moltres says ’Why? This is Lord Lugia’s order.’"
Rio’s eyes widened in surprise as he looked at Entei. He hadn’t expected it to protect him—this was a true friend of the people!
"Yan-yan-yi~"
"Entei says, ’Won’t you give me even a little face?’"
"GRA-OOO!"
"Moltres says, ’Your face is worthless—take it up with Lord Lugia yourself!’"
Moltres fired a Blast Burn at Entei. Entei opened its maw—this time, not ordinary flame, but scorching purple fire. Compared to Charizard’s, Entei’s Sacred Fire was clearly more powerful and intense. The temperature around them skyrocketed—Rio was drenched in sweat within two seconds.
Charizard stared at Entei in awe. As Entei’s Sacred Fire clashed with Moltres’s Blast Burn, the flames held for two seconds before Sacred Fire pierced through and burned Moltres, making it cry out in pain.
"Roaar~" — So powerful! Charizard’s eyes shone with admiration.
Damn—Entei is the real deal! If Raikou doesn’t unlock its friendship rewards, it’ll never compete with Entei for leadership of the three beasts, Rio marveled internally.
"Yan-yan-yi~"
"Entei says, ’Can you give me some face now?’"
"GRA-OOO!"
"Moltres roars back and attacks again."
"Moltres says, ’Screw your face—today, either you burn me, or I burn you!’"
As Gengar translated, Entei used Sacred Fire again—and won again. The flames spread onto Moltres, which cried out in pain before the attack ended.
"GRA-OOO!"
"Moltres says, ’Fine, fine—you win. You have the bigger face. I’ll spare them today.’"
Rio saw Moltres glare at him, its voice echoing in his mind: "Kid—I’ll let you go today. But if you ever set foot on my island again—or if Lord Lugia finds out you’re still alive—you’re done."
With that, Moltres flapped its wings and flew away. Rio turned to Entei, who was looking back at him. Before he could thank it, Entei’s voice sounded in his mind: "Where’s Munchlax?"
Rio choked on his words. Huh? Munchlax? This rescue had something to do with Munchlax?
Seeing Rio frozen, Entei’s gaze turned cold, its voice returning: "I asked you—where is Munchlax? Don’t tell me you abandoned it during that battle?"
"No, no—it’s in its ball!" Rio quickly pulled out Munchlax’s Luxury Ball and released it.
Munchlax lay weakly on Charizard’s back. Rio immediately felt a sharp, piercing glare—Entei was staring at him coldly, and he had no idea why.